The Mysterious Dungeon: A Survival Guide to the Twelve Talismans

Chapter 72 The Silent Fireball

If it's really as Zhou An thinks, then the actual situation of the survival train is not good.

That's why Zhou An, the winner who cleared the fifth level, was chosen to complete this task.

But... is it only Zhou An who has passed the final test, or are all the previous winners of the fifth level allowed to come here?

Unable to figure it out, with too little information, Zhou An was too lazy to think about it anymore.

Zhou An stepped forward and picked up the protective suit.

[Best Diving Suit]: This is the best diving suit, bar none.

Effect: This is a rule-based item. When worn, it will not be corroded or damaged in any body of water. The oxygen tank lasts for one hour. When the oxygen is depleted, the diving suit will become ineffective.

Note: The oxygen tank can be filled by simply leaving it on land with air for one hour. You can also use Soul Coins to speed up the filling process; 1,000 Soul Coins will double the speed.

Zhou An raised an eyebrow.

This diving suit is actually a rule-based item, and as long as it is in the water, it will not be corroded or damaged in any way.

Diving suits are extremely useful in waters that are corrosive or otherwise lethal.

In an instant, Zhou An's unease vanished.

As long as he wears this diving suit, no matter how terrifying the black water outside is, it has no effect on him.

The only pity is that the evil and benevolent aspects probably cannot be summoned, because there is only one diving suit.

Zhou An immediately put on his diving suit.

The diving suit automatically adapted to Zhou An's body shape, was very comfortable, and had no uncomfortable parts.

After getting dressed, the door to the driver's cab opened.

Zhou An took a step and walked straight out.

The moment Zhou An entered the black water, he felt an extreme chill travel from his skin to his entire body.

That wasn't all; he could also feel a pulling sensation, as if it were tugging at his soul.

This feeling vanished in an instant.

Zhou An was now diving as if he were in a perfectly normal body of water, and he couldn't even feel the water pressure on his face.

"Clap!"

The swimming cap Zhou An wore on his head had a built-in spotlight that turned on automatically, illuminating the dark area ahead.

The moment the light appeared, large swaths of mud in front of them suddenly surged wildly.

Zhou An looked closely and his pupils immediately contracted slightly.

There were countless insects in the mud.

Its entire body was covered in jet-black armor, beneath which was a mouth filled with fine teeth.

They have no eyes, no feet, only countless tentacles that serve as their feet.

Zhou An felt physically uncomfortable after watching it.

He forced down the excitement in his heart and scanned his surroundings.

Wherever the light shines, these disgusting insects are everywhere.

There were even insects under Zhou An's feet, but for some reason, these insects didn't dare to get close to Zhou An.

Zhou An withdrew his gaze and then looked at the train.

【Hope Train】: The Hope Train, which crashed into the Black Sea a century ago, was originally a Level 8 vehicle, but after a century of corrosion from the Black Sea, it has fallen to a Level 6 vehicle.

[Status]: Black water corrosion, black insect infestation.

"The Hope Train?" Zhou An was quite surprised after reading these attributes.

One hundred years later, Tier 8 vehicles were downgraded to Tier 6 vehicles.

But what is a vehicle? Is it also a prop? It doesn't seem like one.

There is so little information, so very little.

"In the real world, there are official bodies. It seems we need to arrest one of them and interrogate them for information."

Zhou An snapped out of his thoughts and looked outside the train.

The entire exterior of the train was covered with countless black insects, and Zhou An could vaguely hear some small gnawing sounds.

How do I get started? Fire incendiary bombs? Would that be effective in this black water?

Who cares, I'll just try it and see.

Zhou An climbed directly onto the roof of the vehicle using the ladder beside him.

The black insects all scattered and dared not approach within half a meter of Zhou An.

Zhou An raised his hand and fired a fireball.

However, the moment the Flame Blast Bullet left his hand, it went silent.

From the moment it slipped from my grasp to the moment it disappeared, it took less than a second.

It was as if some force had instantly extracted the energy from the fireball.

Zhou An frowned upon seeing this.

The Dragon Talisman was his strongest attack method at the moment, but it was useless.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou An took out the cutting knife.

The moment Zhou An took it out, he discovered that his cutting knife had malfunctioned.

[Status]: Corrosion

【Corrosion】: When corroded by the black water, the blade's power is gradually depleted within 2 hours, and it is eventually completely corroded away.

Good heavens, this black liquid can even corrode props.

Zhou An took out other props and tried them out, but found that they were all the same.

Furthermore, level 1 items can last for one hour, level 2 items can last for two hours, and so on.

Thinking of this, Zhou An dared not delay any longer. He grabbed the scissor and began to use his skill to kill the enemy with a single strike.

However, when the blade energy is released in an instant, it will disappear immediately if you cut it with your sword, as the power will be extracted.

"How are we supposed to clean this? Just chop it up with a knife?" Zhou An's lips twitched slightly.

After thinking for a moment, he directly performed a flesh and blood sacrifice.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou An's three-dimensional attributes increased tenfold.

Feeling the surge of power within him, Zhou An began his great cleaning work.

These black insects look numerous and terrifying, but they are easy to kill.

Zhou An could kill more than ten black insects with a single slash.

After the black insect died, a faint wisp of breath appeared and then disappeared into the Hope train.

Zhou An, however, did not notice this and simply began mechanically killing the black insects.

As they were killing, Zhou An suddenly had a brilliant idea: to use his mind translation machine to communicate directly with the black insects.

"Eat...eat...eat..."

However, Zhou An only responded with intermittent "eating" words.

Upon seeing this, Zhou An shook his head and ignored it, continuing to kill the black insects.

……

[Mission 1 complete. Oxygen will run out in five minutes. Please return to the train as soon as possible to replenish oxygen.]

Zhou An didn't know how many black insects he had killed; they were everywhere, and they would just keep coming back up after he killed them.

Upon hearing the notification tone, Zhou An snapped out of his daze, jumped down from above, and returned to the carriage.

Zhou An took off his diving suit and threw it on the ground.

This job is absolutely inhuman.

I wasn't tired, but it was so boring, and it was pitch black.

Looking at the cutting knife in my hand, I saw that it was corroded and pitted, and was completely useless.

【Task 2】: Go inside the carriage and remove all the black bugs inside.

The mission has come again: to clear out the black bugs.

Without further ado, Zhou An walked directly through the rear passage to the driver's seat.

Chapter 73 How to Become a Driver

The connection between the driver's cab and the passenger compartment is fully enclosed, preventing black water from entering.

Or rather, there should be no black water inside the entire train, which relieved Zhou An.

Without the black liquid, cleaning up the black worms becomes easy.

Zhou An opened the sliding door and went directly into carriage number 1.

Carriage number 1 was pitch black, and nothing could be seen, but some unusual noises could be heard.

And the distance seems to be getting closer and closer.

Zhou An immediately activated the Tiger Talisman Spell, summoning both the benevolent and malevolent aspects of his being.

None of the three spoke, but scorching hot explosives gathered in their palms.

A dazzling light emanated from their palms, illuminating the dark carriage.

The moment the light appeared, the black insects, which were only a few meters away from them, let out a sharp cry and quickly hid under the broken seats.

"Goodness, this carriage is really dilapidated," the evil entity exclaimed in amazement.

Zhou An looked around at the illuminated carriage; indeed, it was extremely dilapidated.

The ground and roof were pitted and full of rust.

Looking at the dining tables and chairs, they were all dilapidated, seemingly eaten away by these black insects.

It is obvious that carriage number 1 is a dining car.

Under the light, no black insects appeared; they all hid in the shadows.

“These black insects have all hidden themselves away. They’re small, so this might be a bit of a problem,” the benevolent entity said after glancing around.

"Tch, what's the trouble? Just use Fire Blast to clean it up inside and out. Where can they hide?" The evil entity said dismissively.

"Are you sure? What if the carriage melts down and black water gets in? We're probably doomed." The benevolent entity dared not gamble on whether the fireball could break through the carriage.

"Wait, let me ask and see if this Hope Train is sentient." Suddenly, Zhou An thought of something and quickly used the Mind Translator.

"Hey, are you there? Can you hear me?" Zhou An shouted directly at the Hope train.

“I can…I can hear you. Can you…talk to me?” A broken voice echoed in Zhou An’s heart.

"It's good that we can communicate. I'm going to use the Flame Bomb to clean up the bugs in your car."

"It shouldn't damage your carriage, right?" Zhou An asked.

"No...no, as long as your attack strength doesn't exceed level six, you can't damage the carriage." Hope's voice quickened slightly.

"Then there's no problem. I'll get to work now." Zhou An smiled slightly.

He then addressed the evil entities, saying, "Our attack strength is only level five. Use it freely; it won't damage the carriage."

As soon as Zhou An finished speaking, the Flame Blast Ball in his palm was launched.

"Alright, watch this." The evil entity chuckled, raised its hands, and fired two fiery explosives into the carriage.

In an instant, the entire carriage was engulfed in scorching flames and enveloped in a powerful shockwave.

The three stood still, basking in the scorching heat, completely unmoved.